Canberra Raiders prop Frank-Paul Nuuausala had a brain snap that cost his side victory against the Gold Coast Titans in the nation's capital. Photo / YouTube.
Canberra Raiders prop Frank-Paul Nuuausala had a brain snap that cost his side victory against the Gold Coast Titans in the nation's capital. Photo / YouTube.
Canberra Raiders prop Frank-Paul Nuuausala had a brain snap that cost his side victory against the Gold Coast Titans in the nation's capital.
The Raiders were up 20-18 with less than five minutes remaining when they kicked off from halfway following a Titans try. As the home side's defensive linecharged down the field to tackle the ball-carrier, Nuuausala had his mind on other things.
As he ran downfield, he shoulder charged Ryan James about 30 metres out from the Titans' line - a stupid play for two reasons.
One, the shoulder charge is banned in rugby league, and two, obviously you can't tackle someone without the ball. In this case, James was at least 30 metres away from the ball and had his back to the Canberra front-rower when he received the hit that forced him to the turf and prompted trainers to rush to his side.
The Titans received a penalty for the inexplicable act and made their way to the other end of the field where they forced a repeat set after the Raiders knocked a chip kick to the corner dead.
On the next set, Gold Coast rookie John Olive clawed his way over the line and the Bunker agreed with referee Henry Perenara's on-field decision of "try" to give the Titans a 24-20 win.
It was a contentious call, with Raiders skipper Jarrod Croker arguing vehemently with Perenara about the decision. The nearest touch judge encouraged the original try call, advising the man in the middle that Olive successfully grounded the ball over the line.
